The tatami room

[Hiko]

So this is not entirely related to family and children but I figured people with a family were more likely to have advice. We recently had a baby and thus are moving into a bigger apartment. The problem is that the living room space is a little small, so we're thinking of opening up one of the rooms and having the big tatami room next to it as the living space. I've never dealt with tatami before and was wondering how careful you have to be with; can you put a western style sofa on it? How about a coffee table and tv stand? Is there any special care or advice you have regarding tatami?

Also, keeping young baby in mind, does it stain or get stuff smushed in between it easily(ie: food and drinks)? If so, is it easy to clean?

Thanks everyone!

[Shakes Spear]

We use the tatami room off the kitchen as the family/play room. It gets some serious abuse! We've got a sofa, tv stand, kids table and chairs, book shelves, and more, not to mention all of the wear and tear from toys, food etc. It has held up great. I think it's well suited for this because it's softer than wood, but more durable than carpet (and replaceable!). I say go for it!

Putting a kotatsu type blanket/pad under the table works very well too (as you can see). Easy to fold up and throw in the wash when it gets dirty. Also, during the cold winter months you can put a heating pad under it which is great for babies who are crawling around (parents too!).

[kanazawaku]

Heavy furniture smooshes the tatami, so I wouldn't put a couch or TV stand on mine. We had a crib in the tatami room for about a year, and even though we put some thick cardboard under the wheels to cushion it you can still see the indentations where it was. Apparently you can fix it with a steam iron, but who has time to do that when you have children crawling about?

Tatami is not very difficult to clean, just vaccuuming and the occasional wipe down is enough. It is fragile, however. You can't put a rug on it because that will trap the humidity and cause it to rot. Kids have a way of tearing up the fibers. (Our tatami has lots of prickly places now.) There are spots on the tatami where my oldest rubbed toothpaste into it that we can't get out. My toddler pooped on it the other day and that was a pain in the butt too clean up (pun intended,) but using an old toothbrush and cleaning fluid I was able to get it up without noticeable damage.

Using the tatami room as the living room would mean having to enforce a strict no food and drinks rule and would limit your furniture choices. The floor is softer, though, so it is easier on a crawling baby's knees and not as dangerous for babies when they are just learning to walk. Tatami also acts as a sound barrier somewhat so it may prevent your neighbors from complaining. It's warmer in the winter than hardwood floors, so if you're using a futon you will probably find the tatami room much more comfortable to sleep in.

We had to make a similar choice when moving into our apartment, and we ended up using the "western" room as a living room. I didn't feel I could really enforce the no food or drinks rule, and the hardwood floor is just easier to clean when messes happen, and they happen often!

[kanazawaku]

To the Bard- your room looks nice and cozy!

Might also add that we own our apartment, so any wear and tear to the tatami we have to pay for. If we were renting we might have made a different choice.

You can have the tatami turned over when it starts to show wear, and when you've messed up both sides you can have it re-covered, which is cheaper than having it replaced but still a pain in the neck since you have to call The Guy

[Hiko]

Wow thank you both for answering all my concerns.

Shakes Spear: I really appreciate the picture! That's pretty much what I had in mind so it's great to know it works (and doesn't look awkward against the tatami)

kanazawaku: Ah yea I'd heard about letting it breathe. Luckily we are only renting and hopefully for only a couple years until we can buy a place (preferably NOT with tatami) so I'm guessing it should hold out okay? Glad to know it's cleanable though, and easy on a little ones crawling and walking trials! I'll stick to your advice on food and especially drinks too just to be safe. Thanks for sharing your expereinces!

[Shakes Spear]

We've been using our room for about a year and a half now (since we bought the house) and it's held up quite well. I think most of the concerns that kanazawaku mentioned are no different than what you would deal with in a carpeted room. Of course the furniture leaves imprints but who cares? The kotatsu blanket is light and thin enough that it lets the mats breathe just fine. For a few months we all actually used that small table to have dinner since the regular chairs were too large. Little man still has snacks in there all the time and we haven't had any problems with cleaning up after him. As was mentioned, you can flip them after they begin to fray and get too worn and then they can just be replaced eventually. Not a big deal.